Vermont State Police: Death of 11-month old Ludlow boy ruled homicide

LUDLOW – Vermont State Police say the January death of an 11-month-old Ludlow boy has been ruled a homicide.

Police said Wednesday that an autopsy and subsequent investigation by the office of the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner determined that the death of Karsen Rickert was due to strangulation or smothering.

On Jan. 11 police were called to the home where Karsen lived with his mother, Abigail Wood, and her boyfriend after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant. Karsen was later pronounced dead at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.